While generative design offers innovative, organic forms, its realization has largely been limited to prototyping via additive manufacturing. Conventional computer numerical control (CNC) Machinist, despite its advancements and suitability for mass production, has primarily focused on geometric parts, alongside making the production more efficient, autonomous, and lights out. This project investigates a paradigm shift by exploring the integration of generative design with modern CNC Machinist techniques. We’ll delve into recent developments in CAM software, using Autodesk Fusion 360 software and modern CNC techniques that enable the fabrication of complex, freeform designs developed through generative algorithms. By examining a successful case study of bicycle components, current limitations, and potential applications across various industries, this presentation aims to highlight the potential of this integrated approach to bring generative design to mass manufacturing, moving beyond prototyping and into real-world applications.

This session will showcase how modular construction leaders DuBox and DuPod are revolutionizing project delivery by using Autodesk Build software and Autodesk Construction Cloud—with QR-coded, data-driven workflows throughout the entire lifecycle. Starting with AI-assisted design, participants will see how design teams generate multiple layout and system options, instantly visualized in 3D models and analyzed through Power BI dashboards to reveal quantities and costs—empowering faster, smarter decisions early in the process. In manufacturing, each module and component is tracked using the Asset feature in Autodesk Build. QR codes are assigned to every asset, linking physical elements to their digital counterparts.

In 2025, technology trends in design, construction, and facilities management are converging around artificial intelligence (AI), Automation, Integration, & Customization, and Sustainable Design—with a focus on enhancing efficiency, safety, and user experience. Key areas include the integration of AI in design, 3D printing and additive manufacturing, drones, robotics, wearable technology, and Sustainable Design initiatives. This session will bring together the leaders in design construction and facility management to discuss the current trends and look to the future of technology in 2026.

Have you ever thought about flow path optimization? Do you have great ideas that could change the world, but no fluid mechanics knowledge, time, or expensive CFD tools? All you need is Generative Fluids in Autodesk Fusion 360 software! We'll present a set of case studies in this session. The first ones will explain the basic aspects of flow path optimization. We'll discuss pressure drop, its reasons, and minimalization solutions in an easy-to-understand way. Then, we'll discuss more-complex designs in order to show how to use Fusion 360 capabilities and change inner flow paths into outer shells that are fully manufacturable parts. And we'll bring a few of our 3D-printed designs so you'll have a chance to handle them! By the very end, you'll understand the full potential of Generative Fluids optimization possibilities. This is the beginning of your flow optimization journey!

The demand for medical devices is rapidly growing with a forecast of global annual sales to reach nearly US$800 billion by 2030. But a one-size-fits-all approach in surgery often results in major complications such as infection, delayed or incomplete healing, and revision surgeries that contribute to diminishing clinical outcomes. A new approach with design thinking is now necessary to help solve these challenges. Researchers at University of Birmingham, Autodesk, Manufacturing Technology Centre (UK), and the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust have developed a novel design framework to create personalized knee implants from a CT scan using generative design for treating arthritis. This class will showcase how generative design can be implemented in an all-encompassing digital workflow to explore customized devices and make a positive impact to improve patient outcomes. The team will also discuss the fabrication of functional prototypes using cutting-edge manufacturing, post-processing, and validation techniques.

Fusion connects product development from ideation through shop floor fulfillment integrating a broad array of both design & manufacturing solutions. Fusion connects shared data across your processes and tools to help designers, machinists & business leaders make better decisions and improve profitability and sustainability. Meet the partners that help make that happen from hot startups to established industry leaders. Autodesk's ever-evolving partner ecosystem delivers modern solutions, allowing Fusion customers to leverage the latest advancements in sustainable design, toolpath automation, data management, and automated manufacturing. Join this session to hear from some of our key partners and explore how together we are accelerating innovation in manufacturing.

Evolved Structures, a technology based on generative design and digital manufacturing, has the potential to revolutionize spaceflight system components. This presentation explores "prompt engineering" for guiding generative design artificial intelligence (AI) using textual and geometric information to create parts that meet functional, structural, and manufacturing requirements. By integrating essential design elements, engineers can maximize AI-driven optimization for innovative, high-performance spaceflight systems that are cost-effective and efficient to produce. The presentation will also showcase examples of fabricated hardware developed using this approach, which are slated for integration in future NASA missions.

Using examples from recent student work at San Jose State University, this session will present a case study on how the introduction of CAD earlier in design workflow benefitted students with little or no design abilities. It will explore how students were able to ramp up quickly and remove the barriers to entry for learning the industrial design process. Incorporating Fusion 360 in the industrial design curriculum at San Jose State University was pivotal in expanding product development workflows in other emerging technologies that improved students' industrial design development success. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and 3D printing make it possible to maintain continuity in design development and evaluation conversations, while also reducing environmental impact through more sustainable, iterative practice

Educators! Have you been tasked with teaching digital modeling and/or 3D printing? In this session, learn step-by-step, tutorial projects for simple consumer items. You can take these fun, actionable projects back to your classes to help get students started. Projects will include: Finding sketches on the internet, turning them into SVG files with an online converter, and using Fusion 360 to turn them into a cookie cutter and business card; Using Recap Photo to turn smartphone snaps of a statue into a reality capture model, importing the model into TinkerCAD, and editing it into a candy jug.

In this class, we'll demonstrate a project that uses Automated Modeling to design a conceptual part. We'll then take that concept and refine it to become a functional, manufacturable part using Generative Design.

Additive manufacturing has opened the doors to large scale production of geometry previously thought impossible. Today, the challenge isn't manufacturing; it's how to quickly and easily design products that can leverage the unique benefits of 3D printing. Thankfully, Autodesk is leading the industry with cutting edge implicit modeling tools that enable you to design better products more quickly, more easily and more affordably. In this hand-on lab, you'll dive deep into the world of volumetric lattice in Fusion 360 and how it enables you to design the product of your dreams. You'll start by learning the basics of how the technology works and how to lattice a sample part. Then, you will put your new skills into practice and lattice an actual part. After covering foundational skills, you will use intermediate methods to create more complex lattices with ease. Finally, you will explore advanced and even expert techniques that push the limits of what is possible. If you design or engineer consumer products and want to take your designs to the next level and beyond, this hands-on LAB is for you!

3D printing has become increasingly popular on construction sites, allowing firms to facilitate the construction process and decrease carbon footprint. It's a challenging exercise, due to the size of elements and the fact that they can't be reinforced, nor can the finishes be easily achieved. In order to democratize 3D printing, the decision was made to tackle the problem differently. The creation of 3D-parametric-printed formworks, urban furniture, or complex beam nodes/intersection is automated. This enables the reduction of production time and costs, as these elements can be produced in an infinite quantity and easily mounted on site. It also enables carbon footprint reduction by getting rid of wooden formworks and trucks for concrete pouring, and reducing the waste and time involved in creating those elements. The use of parametric elements to create these objects allows a full customization and replication. A deployment kit has been created for their subcontractors. Spie batignolles is becoming the first contractor-printer!

New manufacturing techniques and innovative materials are making us rethink infrastructure creation, but they've also raised a need for closer structural health monitoring. Autodesk Research collaborated with MX3D to create the world's first 3D-printed steel bridge, and then with Dar Al-Handasah to 3D print a series of bridges from sustainable (recycled and recyclable) material. We drove the effort to add "smarts” to both bridges via sensor networks that capture data about their use. The bridges were modeled as digital twins using innovative visualization technology that has been integrated into Autodesk Platform Services and Autodesk Tandem software. These twins visualize the stress on the bridges' structures as people walk across them. Given the popularity of the 5-meter Dar bridge exhibited at Autodesk University 2022 in New Orleans, we wanted to show more details of our work on these iconic projects, and how they might influence the future of smart and sustainable infrastructure.

Additive manufacturing allows for a plethora of new manufacturing possibilities. But what about sustainability possibilities? Sustainability is a huge topic and one that rightly is garnering more and more attention. The latticing of parts that additive manufacturing allows can provide huge performance benefits, but also environmental benefits. Autodesk and One Click Metal have worked on combining the Autodesk Fusion 360 Volumetric Lattice tool with One Click Metal's hardware capabilities, to showcase the benefits of using lattices for Laser Powderbed Fusion (LPBF) manufacture, and how this can be used to improve the sustainability of 3D prints. This industry talk will discuss the concept of lattices, the benefits of using lattices for LPBF manufacture, the challenges of printing them, and, most importantly, how they can be used in 3D printing to reduce waste, energy consumption, and carbon emissions, and promote eco-friendly manufacturing practices.

Meet "The Brænch"—an organic 3-meter-high steel structure fabricated with advanced 3D printing technology. This class showcases how our cross-disciplinary team used Fusion to unlock novel design workflows and create unique architectural elements that are 3 times cheaper than if they were die cast. We'll demonstrate why architects should consider adding Fusion to their toolbox for generative design, optimization, and FEA simulation to move beyond certain limitations of Rhino/Grasshopper. Through detailed examples, we'll present an integrated workflow improving material efficiency and structural performance in large-scale metal components. The class targets architects first approaching manufacturing, practically demonstrating how to align design with fabrication requirements, opening possibilities for applications such as façade components and structural elements while leveraging additive manufacturing to tackle material transportation, construction cost, and supply chain challenges.

This session will explore a practical, classroom-tested workflow for integrating advanced electronics and mechanical design using Autodesk Fusion software. Using a mechatronics case study—a Raspberry Pi Pico-controlled NERF turret—you'll learn to streamline multidisciplinary design, enhance collaboration, and prevent integration challenges. See how Fusion can simplify electronics PCB and mechanical design integration, optimize prototyping, and support real-world educational outcomes. Gain practical methods for improving your electronics-mechanical workflow efficiency.

What’s the difference between topology optimization and generative design—and why does it matter when building advanced components? In this hands-on lab, we’ll explore the tools and workflows that helped Elara Aerospace design a launch-ready, record-breaking rocket built to survive the extreme forces of spaceflight. You’ll follow guided exercises in Autodesk Fusion software, learning how to harness both generative design and topology optimization to reduce mass, increase strength, and improve overall performance under tight constraints. We’ll walk through how to define loads, constraints, and materials. We’ll cover how to interpret and compare outcomes. And we’ll explore post-process geometry for manufacturability. You’ll gain practical experience in setting up a generative design study, comparing it with topology optimization, and understanding when and why each approach is appropriate. By the end, you’ll understand the theory—and have built and optimized a component for spaceflight-level performance.

Difficult and costly importation of equipment. Lack of customized parts. Unavailable spare parts, especially in the remote areas where supply chains may be disrupted. These are some of the daily challenges faced by the staff of MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières—Doctors Without Borders). The 3D Printing for All project aims to democratize access to 3D printing and solve some of those challenges by getting 3D printing in MSF's projects, and developing procedures and guidelines on how to use it safely and efficiently. Describing design needs, context, and technical parameters for a CAD expert to make a design is critical to the production of the products that solve problems in the field. For the most part, the people who have the problems to solve do not have engineering backgrounds—and yet they have to provide precise information. Throughout the implementation of the project, we've experienced this communication gap, learned valuable lessons on how to minimize the number of iterations, and saved material and time involved in putting a product in use.

The Autodesk Factory Experience at AU is where attendees get a hands-on experience of the concept-to-production process using Autodesk Fusion software. Last year, the Autodesk team designed and developed a customizable keypad for Autodesk apps, using PCBs, 3D printing, injection molding, and sheet fabrication. Attendees had explored the mini-factory floor and tailored their own keypads with computer numerical control (CNC)-engraved keys with frequently used Autodesk app commands. The AU 2024 Factory Experience: Keypad 2.0 Sustainability Redesign is focused on Autodesk's commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency in manufacturing. This overview will cover insights into common product design and manufacturing challenges that many companies face in their efforts to reduce energy consumption and prioritize eco-friendly, nonpolluting processes that are safe for employees, communities, and consumers—with help from brilliant Fusion design social influencers, sustainability partners, and amazing Autodeskers!

Embark on an exciting journey into the world of creating a fully functional simulation racing steering wheel, using Autodesk Fusion capabilities: Design, electronics, simulation, and manufacturing—all within one seamless solution. Witness the collaborative efforts of global industry experts and suppliers as they bring this project to life. Join us and experience innovation in motion!